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First, I'd like to thank Bumblefoot for correcting my transcriptions of these licks. One of Ron's unique techniques is his use of a thimble on his right-hand pinky, enabling him to access notes that are higher than the fretboard allows. These next two licks are examples of his wondrous thimble usage. The first excerpt (Fig.1) comes from the song "Go". It's a perfect example of the beauty in dissonance. Thal taps the thimble where the 33rd fret would be, producing a very high C#. Fig.1 |
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The next thimble lick (Fig.2) comes from "Girl Like You". I also decided to include the interesting modulation from the verse, which is in G, to the chorus in E. As for tips with the lick itself -- after picking the 5th fret G string, use the thimble to slide up to where the 32nd fret would be, pull off to the 14th fret, then tap 32 again, and move your left hand down, rinse, and repeat. |
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Fig.2 |
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One of the things I find most interesting about Bumblefoot's music is the rhythm. Thal has an affinity for odd rhythmic groupings and highly syncopated lines. Here are two examples of some very fine rhythmical riffage. Fig.3 is from "Ick" and Fig.4 is from "Noseplugs". |
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Fig.3 |
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Fig.4 |
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As mentioned previously, Bumblefoot is an extremely well-rounded musician. This next excerpt (Fig.5) is from the "I Hate Me More Than I Love You" solo, and shows some jazzy chordal soloing. Use both pick and fingers from the diad slide on. The chord progression is Bm E C#m7 F#7. |
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Fig.5 |
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Here's another example of Ron's multi-facetedness (for lack of an actual word). Fig.6 is the classical guitar theme in "A Way Out". The implied chord progression is Gm Dm/F Em7(-5) for the first bar, Cm Gm/Bb F/A D7/F# for the second. |
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Fig.6 |
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Ah... who doesn't love the nutritious qualities of luscious polyrythmic tapping. This next excerpt (Fig.7) is the main theme in "Lost", and it comes from Bumblefoot's own transcription. The song is actually played on a fretless guitar, but this part will sound fine on a regular one. The polyrhythm here is 5 over 2. Think 1 - 2 - 3 AND 4 - 5 -. For both hands, use your middle and ring fingers for the hammering/tapping. Also, be sure to rest your left-hand index finger across the 4th fret (or so), in order to prevent string noise. The implied chord here is the oh-so-colorful A7(-5). |
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Fig.7 |
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Fig.8 is another tapping jamboree, this time from the song "Fly In The Batter" (which Thal also plays on his Vigier Surfreter fretless guitar). Almost everything is hammered or tapped. Tap with the middle and ring fingers. For the last note in the sextuplet, slide the tapped note up a fret, and immediately when the 15th fret sounds, hammer-on to the 6th fret low E, letting the notes ring together. The implied chord for most of the riff is another one'ah 'dem 7(-5)'s, this time in E. |
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Fig.8 |
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Good ol' Ronald tends to use pick-and-fingers (or "chicken-pickin'" as it has also been called) for string-skipping stuff, instead of alternate picking everything. (When you're a fat bastard like Ron, economy of motion is absolutely vital). This excerpt (Fig.9) is from "Guitars SUCK". The quintuplet groupings also make this quite interesting. |
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Fig.9 |
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Fig.10 is a lick from another fretless song, "Raygun". 'Tis truly one of the coolest things I've ever heard. The idea here is to pick the first harmonic, pluck the next with your middle finger, and pluck the last with your ring finger. The pick-pluck-pluck harmonic idea is also used in the main "Hangup" riff. The 2nd fret harmonic should actually be more like 2 1/4 (because if it was just 2 the note would be A, and G is the note of choice there). The end of the lick calls for a double-stop harmonic slide, something that really can only be done on a fretless. |
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Fig.10 |
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This next lick (Fig.11) makes use of two unique aspects of Thal's style. It's the tapping bit in "Chair Ass", which is tuned in Drop D. To play it properly, you need to have your left hand over the neck, with your ring finger rested atop the fifth fret harmonic. For the right hand, tap with your middle and ring fingers (once again). For the muted parts, smack the strings with your left-hand middle and index fingers. This lick is very interesting for a variety of reasons. For example, notice how Ron displaces the whole bit by one note (which is part of a quintuplet grouping). Genius, I tell you! For the harmonic-analysis-loving-fucks out there (like me) -- you could think of this lick as a sort of combination arpeggio of E7(#9) and E7(b9). |
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Fig.11 |
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As a truly fitting final lick in this little feature, Fig.12 is an excerpt from the "Goodbye" solo (note: I get no credit whatsoever for transcribing the first half of this lick, that was all Ronald). This lick is so goddamn smooth, it hurts. Very little picking here. Pluck the 7p5 on the G string with your middle finger. After tapping the 21st fret G string with your middle finger, hammer-on to the high E string (14-16-17-19), ending with a 22nd fret ring-finger tap. |
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Fig.12 |
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Well, that's all. That's every single cool part of Bumblefoot's music; the rest is just shit. But seriously, towards the end of transcribing the bits for this article, I kept thinking, "O Great Dios -- I should include the main 'Raygun' theme! And howsabout 'Dirty Pant'loons'?!" M'point is, no matter how comprehensive I tried to make this piece, in reality I could never fully satiate the hungry fans of Bumblefoot -- there's simply too much amazing stuff to be covered. So, I hope you enjoyed my subpar, mediocre article, and that it has peaked your curiosity enough to explore Bumblefoot's taint-bludgeoning music. Finally, I also pray to the Great God of Gods, Zeus, that Ron's unique ideas inspire you, as they did me, and you begin to formulate your own creative style. As we say in Jew Land, Shalom. And may Vin Diesel be with you. |
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